Boats in NZ

[Aaron Fear-Ross]

Afternoon(UK)/Morning(NZ) all,

I was wondering if somebody could update me on what are considered to be the 'market leaders' in NZ at the moment for Men and for Woman.

I know that the Vampire, Flame and Nitro are sold but which of these are most popular with each sex at the moment and are there any other boats which are considered widely as being in a similar league?

In the UK my opinion would be (in no particular order)that for men,

Nitro & Mystere would be the leaders with the Velocity starting to make a name for itself

for Woman (once again not neccesarily in order)

Nitro Micro & Flight once again with the Velocity starting to make an impression

Not really worried about opinions on the UK market but would be interested in hearing about the NZ scene at the moment from anybody that feels like responding

[Juno]

Hi Aaron,
I would say that it is not really what is most popular although it is starting to have an effect but what ia available for purchase in New Zealand.

For Men as you said is the Nitro, Flame and Vampire all are realitvely the same price in NZ and at the moment the Nitro and Vampire seem to be the most popular with the Flame (or Inferno) needing some minor tweaks to bring it up to the same standard in game play. Really comes down to player prefrence with some people saying that boat 'X' doesn't do such and such but when you paddle it, it does for you.

For the Women I would say the Vampire S is the most popular at a higher, closely followed by the Ruahine Star which is very popular with the smaller/youth womens players.

Other boats available the Dragon was/is very popular with the smaller/youth men, the Viper similar to a International has just come onto the market so needs to prove itself. I also think that there is a mold for the Rogue and Powerplay floating around which where popular in their day and are still used by schools in particular the Powerplay when it comes to their old fleets.

There is alot of interest in boats available in Europe down here but it comes down to cost as most boats when you get them down to NZ cost you around NZ$3,000 for a Kevalar kayak compared to the boats mentioned above costing between NZ$1000 and NZ$1,750. I'm sure there would be a few sales if the boats could be sold competitively down here.

[Aaron Fear-Ross]

Hi Juno,

What shape is the Ruahine Star and Dragon based off? Were they designed in NZ or brought in from somewhere else?

I remember the Powerplay and Rouge as I paddled one of each of them while still in NZ, I thought they were good boats. I have heard that Martin is finishing up a new rouge design so that should be good to have a go in.

I would say that if anybody wants to get European boats into NZ then the best way would be to follow in Nick's footsteps and to get a mould as it's way too expensive to import. The boats in the UK are also no where near as strong as the boats in NZ and Aus apart from the prepreg revenges

All very interesting stuff...cheers for responding

A

[cpbutler]

Hi Aaron

The Star was an attempted merge of the Mischief and the powerplay so it has more volume at the ends than a mischief but still the upturned bow and a wider stern.

I designed the Dragon from scratch tho I did start with a foam Flame to hack apart with knives, a hacksaw and a pruning saw. So it doesn't really look like many other boats. I have been making a newer version of it but that project has stalled at the moment as I am too busy with other stuff. The current Dragon is best for youth males, it is too tippy for most females and not enough volume for the larger people.

Cam :thumbup:

[Aaron Fear-Ross]

Hi Cam,

Did you have the Dragon in Japan, I remember talking to you about a boat that you had designed but am not sure if you had it there with you

A

[Juno]

Eoin (Owen) Whelan #4 NZ Mens 2002 paddled a Dragon at Worlds 2002 in Essen, he sold it over there after the comp and it is probably still floating around Germany somewhere.

[cpbutler]

Hi Aaron

I paddled a modified Viper at worlds as I wasn't able to get my new boat finished in time. The modification was to cut the tail down by 10mm and she turned fantastically.

currently not paddling at the mo due to a mountain bike crash, but I will be paddling my prototype when I play again as it is so much fun. I have a vamp 2001 but much prefer the prototype. Well you would hope I would seeing as it is my design :)

Cam